sweat, the actor alex krapovsky who plays "ray" on "girls." "cnn newsroom" with carol costello begins right now. see you back here tomorrow morning. happening now, the motivation of a killer, newtown shooter adam lanza reportedly trying to outkill norway mastermind anders breivik. also remembering reeva. >> we have to keep reeva in our hearts forever. >> reporter: the girlfriend of oscar pistorius laid to rest this morning as he goes before a judge, charged with premeditated murder. the stunning, new details coming out of court. plus spying on america. new concerns this morning that a secret ive chinese military grop is hacking into computers. plus this -- >> are you going to want me home? >> you have poor social skills. you have a problem.

>> i have a problem? you say more inappropriate things than inappropriate things. >> jennifer lawrence on "the hunger games" "silver linings" and "the paparazzi." we're live in "the newsroom." good morning, thank you so much for joining me. i'm carol costello. in an emotionally wrenching hearing today a judge refused to downgrade the charge against olympian oscar pistorius. he is now officially charged with a premeditated murder of his girlfriend. pistorius wept as his attorneys tried to persuade the court that reeva steenkamp's death was a tragic accident. key points, he said "i heard a noise in the bathroom, a sense of terror overwhelmed me. it was pitch dark. i thought reeva was in bed. i did not have my legs on. i felt extremely vulnerable. i shouted to reeva to phone police, she did not respond."

later pistorius realized it was reeva in the bathroom, she died in his arms. pistorius' bail hearing is over for the day. cnn's robyn curnow joins us with more. good morning, robyn. >> reporter: good morning. and it was that testimony, wasn't it, it was those words, it was that explanation that people have been waiting for since valentine's day, perhaps that small explanation at least allowing some south africans to hold onto hope that their icon was, indeed, telling the truth, that he thought that she was a burglar, that this was a terrible misunderstanding. this affidavit here that i'm holding in my hand paints a very emotional, sad, tragic picture of what happened to oscar, he says, that night. he didn't have his prosthetic legs on. he was scared, he was terrified, and reeva was in the toilet, which was apparently a separate room from the bathroom, and we did hear the state saying

earlier on that it was just over a meter wide by a meter wide, and so she must have been terrified because these bullets were coming in this small space. there's nowhere she could have gone. whether or not he killed her deliberately as the state argues it was premeditated or he argues it was an absolutely tragic mistake, in the middle of the night, when it was pitch dark, well this is going to be part of the foundation of course of the defense's argument throughout this bail application which is going to continue tomorrow, whether he gets bail, we don't know. it's going to be far more difficult because the state was success envelope trying to persuade the magistrate he should be charged with premeditated murder. >> robyn curnow reporting live from south africa. reeva steenkamp was mourned in her hometown of port elizabeth. later her uncle broke down while

speaking with reporters. >> it's a family, but there's only one thing missing is reeva. >> it's okay. >> we've got to get her -- i don't think i will get over that, with the lord's prayers and the statement that she stood for, abuse against women. >> the day before reeva was killed steenkamp was in support of a event called black friday, a nationwide rape awareness day. a possible motive for the sandy hook shoot something starting to evolve, new details about the newtown shooter's life. cbs is reporting evidence found in adam lanza's bedroom suggested he wanted to kill morpheme than anders breivik, he killed 77 people, mostly teenagers. lanza chose sandy hook elementary because it was an

easy target. >> officials have not publicly revealed what precisely led them to the motive, but sources say investigators have found evidence lanza was obsessed with breiv breivik. they've also recovered what they call a trove of violent video games from the basement of lanza's home, sources say lanza spent countless hours there alone in a private gaming room with the windows blacked out, honing his computer shooting skills. >> cbs reporter bob orr. we have two reports for you this morning, cnn's susan candiotti, who has been on the case since the beginning and the editor of "the haar ford courant" andrew julian, who is presenting a documentary with pbs's "frontline" on adam lanza. susan, you spoke with the connecticut state police. what are they telling you? >> as police put it, they're saying that "we're dealing with a shooter who is dead and now we're trying to rebuild history." police are downplaying the cbs report. quoting here, here's what

they're telling me, "there's no basis to the cbs story. we have not established a motive. it's inaccurate. i talked with cbs and told them that. the cbs story is not accurate whatsoever." however, the spokesman also told me that the possibility that lanza was trying to outdo norway has not been ruled out nor has anything else. investigators reportedly suggest that adam lanza may have been trying to one-up another mass murder by topping anders breivik in norway, as you said he killed 77 people, mainly teenagers. cbs news quotes law enforcement sources who found evidence of that as a possible motive in newtown. part of the evidence? news articles. "the hartford courant" reports several stories about the massacre were discovered in one of lanza's two bedrooms. connecticut investigators reportedly went to washington last week to brief federal authorities and shared this theory. lanza used guns including a

military style assault rifle purchased by his mother. he shot her and then went to sandy hook elementary and systematically killed 20 children and six teachers before taking his own life when police arrived. lanza reportedly chose the school because of the large number of potential targets in that closed-in setting. spokesman called that report speculative of course and says that no single motive has been confirmed but we do know it's certainly under consideration. carol? >> something else that's just eerie, breivik the mass murderer in norway says he trained for the attack playing the violent video game "call of duty." adam lanza was holed up with video games in his basement much of the time. did he play "call of duty" too? >> that's not something our sources are revealing to us. we do know and have reported that many of the violent games are found in the home and he had that room in the basement where he spent a lot of time.

federal investigators have said that lanza and his mother went to gun ranges several times, final investigative report is expected by the summertime. remember that authorities are also trying to reach out to the online gaming community to see whether there was any communication between adam lanza and them, and they're still trying to piece together that computer hard drive, not sure whether they've had much success yet. >> adam lanza apparently described that before he went on his shooting rampage. susan candiotti thanks. now to our national exclusive interview with andrew julian. andrew your paper produced tonight's documentary which will air on pbs's "frontline" on adam lanza. i want to ask you what you learned about this boy. >> well, what we found was that he went from being a troubled boy, a boy who was shy and isolated to being an even more distant and remote young man, a person who continued to retreat into the shadows and was never able to find a place in the world. and what we're trying to

understand and as you just reported is how do those issues that we understand from talking to people who knew his mother, tie in with these other things we're learning about violent video games and the norwegian killings to lead to sandy hook on that day. >> and i've seen parts of your documentary, they're quite eerie and i want to play a clip for our audience, shows a mother of one of adam's first grade classmates describing adam lanza's troubles. >> adam had his 6th birthday party and invited a group of kids to go. that's where i remember talking with nancy. nancy was concerned about adam. he was shy, a little withdrawn, quiet. she was worried that perhaps he had some kind of neurobiological condition. >> some kind of neurobiological

condition. i don't know what that might be. did he develop his violent tendencies when he was very young do you think or do you think that happened later? >> what they're talking about there is sensory integration disorder, a controversial diagnosis in the medical community, but it makes a person very vulnerable to touch and sound and other senses. that clip is from when adam lanza was at sandy hook elementary school in the first grade, and from there, he goes to different schools. he's in different programs, his mother is trying to find the right educational setting that will work for him, and never really finds a place that does. >> and also in your documentary, adam's mother apparently warned a parent at a cub scout meet being her son. >> yes. >> i'll play it. let me show our audience this clip before we talk about it, i'm sorry. >> it was a weirdness about him and nancy warned me once at the

scout meetings she said "just so you know" she says "and i know you wouldn't do this but just so you know don't touch adam." i go, well i wouldn't touch him. she goes "not only like that but don't do an atta boy thing or shake his hand and say way to go, brother." she said "he just can't stand that." >> so only mrs. lanza could touch adam but no one else? >> yes, that goes right back to that sensory integration problem, very vulnerable to touch and sound, and to your question earlier, there's nothing that directly ties that sort of condition or his later diagnosis of asperger's to violence. that is not, there's no direct link between -- those are developmental issues. they speak to how you interact with society. they are not in and of themselves conditions that are associated with violence. >> wow. the "frontline" documentary airs

tonight on pbs. thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. on to other news now $50 million worth of diamonds have been stolen in a daring overnight robbery of a belgium plane with passengers on board. eight masked thieves stormed the plane's cargohold and took the diamonds. the rough and polished stones were heading to switzerland and a senior international correspondent dan rivers explains investigators want to know if it was an inside job. >> reporter: we don't know for sure what level of collusion there was with the airport authorities but we're being told they cut a hole in the perimeter fence of the air field and simply drove on to the air field, pulled up right alongside the plane where this huge cache of diamonds were being loaded and held them up. they did it without firing a shot. they were said to be heavily armed and masked and made off with, the figure we've got according to the exchange rate is about $67 million worth of

diamonds but that may go up because there's reports unconfirmed there may have been gold and palladium as well, so it could be a huge amount of money involved here, and i think just the sheer audacity of this, it sort of it's like a replot of an oceans 11" movie. the only evidence is a van we found on fire near the airport so they obviously tried to cover their tracks and get rid of any evidence and the eight men that disappeared with the diamonds. >> dan rivers reporting. 20 passengers were on board of the plane at the time of the robbery, they were unharmed. his vacation now over, president obama diving right back into the world of washington politics. in the next hour, the president is scheduled to speak about those automatic spending cuts, set to take place next friday unless congress tankes some sor of action. christine romans joins me to break down how we could potentially feel these cuts if

something isn't done. good morning. >> good morning, carol. the first question is what is the sequester, this wonky, horrible budget washington word you keep hearing. it's a fancy word for budget cuts, forced budget cuts. you could also think of the sequester as the "or else." last year it was decided we had to get our budget deficit under control, democrats and republicans together, or else, or else we would have these draconian spending cuts start the beginning part of this year. they didn't get their budget act together and this is the or else, the big budget cuts that are automatically going to happen. it's really frustrating, carol, because this was never -- these were never supposed to happen. this was supposed to be something that was so terrible, it would force democrats and republicans to the table to figure out our fiscal mess and it just didn't work. >> no, it just proves how dysfunctional congress really is. >> yes. >> the draconian cuts we hear how it will affect the military but how will it affect me? >> it will affect all of us if this goes into place. look at education for example, you would have cuts to education, it could be by some

estimates up to 70,000 kids could lose their head start positions, more than 14,000 teachers and staff could be laid off, it would affect criminal justice, border patrol, the security of the border, all fbi workers would have to be furloughed for up to 14 days. look at the parks, you would have the national park service reduced hours, reduced services, something would you certainly feel on your summer travel and travel, speaking of travel, what about longer wait times at airports, longer to get through tsa because of again furloughs, unpaid time off for folks simply because they don't have the budget anymore. you're talking about budget cuts for defense of 13% and for other agencies of 9%. it would certainly affect just about everything that you feel. what you see on that screen right there, carol, this is what senate democrats have proposed to replace the sequester. they've got more gradual defense cuts, they've got stopping direct payments to farmers, they'd like to tax the rich and end tax breaks and loopholes

sending jobs overseas, they could come up with billions to replace the sequester, presumably the president is going to outline what he'd like to see happen later today when we hear from him. the sequester, a stupid washington word for something that was never supposed to happen that will be budget cuts that you and i will feel. >> i like when you say it like it is. makes you want to beat your head against the wall. >> don't beat our heads. our heads are fine. it's washington. >> christine romans, thank you. once again the president said to speak this morning around 10:45 eastern time, he'll speak from the white house. we'll bring you his remarks live here on cnn. meteorite hunters are willing to pay big, big bucks to obtain tiny little pieces of rock that streaked across russia and those pieces are quickly becoming worth more than gold. plus -- >> i'm alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. guess which country's gotten pretty crafty at stealing corporate data from hundreds of companies in the u.s.?

a new reports spells out how the computer hacking is being carried out. the story is coming up. mer. when they tell you that you need your oil changed you got to bring it in. if your tires need to be rotated, you have to get that done as well. jackie, tell me why somebody should bring they're car here to the ford dealership for service instead of any one of those other places out there. they are going to take care of my car because this is where it came from. price is right no problem, they make you feel like you're a family. get a synthetic blend oil change, tire rotation and much more, $29.95 after $10.00 rebate. if you take care of your car your car will take care of you.

19 minutes past the hour.

time to check our top stories. colorado's democratically controlled house approves four gun bills, all in one day. they limit magazine sizes, prohibit concealed weapons on college campuses, stadiums and arenas and require background checks for all private gun purchasers. republicans in the nra oppose the bills which now head to the democratically controlled senate. the meteor that streaked through the russian sky could make some people very rich. offers of several thousand dollars for the fragments are already coming in. many people now searching for chunks of space rock as ads from would-be buyers fill up the internet. you may want to byob in sacramento, that's bring your own bag. tonight city leaders will talk about banning plastic bags. one plan would make shoppers bring their own bags or buy paper bags at a cost of ten cents apiece. and for the third day in a row, gas prices rise and in some places the price at the pump is

downright obscene. in los angeles some are paying $5.19 a gallon. the national average is $3.75 according to aaa, up 10% this month alone. this morning, an american security firm is linking the chinese government to one of the world's most prolific hacking reported from mandiant. >> it's making allegations saying a unit of the chinese military has stolen a boatload of data from over 100 organizations across 20 industries for the last six years. this report didn't go as far as naming those organizations but it does say about 85% of at tacks targeted u.s. organizations. here's a bit from the report i want to read to you, "the sheer scale and duration of these sustained attacks against such a wide set of industries, from a

singularly identified group based in china leaves little doubt about who is behind it. we believe the totality of the evidence we provide in this document bolsters the claim that the group is unit 61398." you're wondering what is 61398? that's a division of the chinese military headquartered in a white building near shanghai, where mandiant traced the attack. the chinese foreign ministry surprise, surprise, is denying the allegations. >> what can companies do to protect themselves? >> many are trying to step up their cyber security systems to guard against the cyber attacks, even "the new york times" recently hired mandiant after it reported it was the target of the chinese hackers though the attack didn't come from 61398 mandiant says. the u.s. government is getting involved, president obama issued an executive order making it easier for private companies that control critical inf infrastructure to share information about cyber attacks with the government.

this order also directs the government to work with private companies on protection standards as well and you may have heard the president highlight the executive order in his state of the union as well so clearly this issue is on the radar, and the big trick here is to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. >> that's tough to do sometimes. alison kosik live from the new york stock exchange. >> i know. we're talking about what may have motivated sandy hook killer adam lanza. should we be talking about it at all? it's our talk back question for today. ♪ [ jen garner ] what skincare brand is so effective... so trusted... so clinically proven dermatologists recommend it twice as much as any other brand? neutrogena®. recommended by dermatologists 2 times more than any other brand. now that's beautiful. neutrogena®.

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and investment companies."

now is your chance to talk back, the question for you this morning, how should the media report on serial killers? maybe, maybe now we know why, why a troubled young man opened fire in sandy hook elementary school. it wasn't because he was unloved or bullied, but obsessed with mass murderers like anders breivik, a vicious norwegian man who killed 77 people in 201137. >> reporter: officials have not publicly revealed what precisely led them to the motive.

but sources say investigators have found evidence lanza was obsessed with breivik. they've also recovered what they call a trove of violent video games from the basement of lanza's home, sources say lanza spent countless hours there alone in a private gaming room with the windows blacked out, honing his computer shooting skills. >> so as cbs reports, adam lanza was fixated on a real life serial killer and honed his shooting skills playing make believe. if the theory is true it reignites the debate over how much air time the media ought to give killers. what if the media had never shown breivik's picture and most importantly never shared with you the who, how and why? the thing is, killers may be inspired by serial killers they see as media stars but they're also inspired by other things. charles manson, a serial killer, was inspired by the beatles "white" album, mark david chapman, the man who killed john

lennon was inspired by "the catcher in the rai" and john hinckley, he was inspired by the movie "taxi driver" which he saw 15 times. he was so obsessed with its star, jodi foster, he shot president reagan so foster would "look into her heart" so he could gain her respect and love. it's easy to blame the media for are the carnage but in my mind it's simplistic. my guess is you find it essential to know why, it's why you watch the news or read a blog or newspaper or book, or watch one of the dozens of tv shows about serial killers. "dexter" anyone? dig deep. what i'm about to ask you doesn't have an easy answer. talk back question of the day, how should the media report on serial killers, facebook.com/carolcnn, or tweet me @carolcnn. stouffer's is proud to make america's favorite lasagna...

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good morning. thank you for being with me. i'm carol costello. stories in "the newsroom" at 0 minutes past the hour, the opening bell ringing on wall street on this holiday shortened week. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange, positive so far, huh? >> just a little bit, carol. wall street's getting back to work from that three-day weekend, basically in the same

mood from last week, pretty blase. the dow is 183 points away from the record 14,164, it's been elusive since the dow crossed over the 14,000 a couple weeks ago. stocks are playing hide and seek with that record at this point. one thing that will hold back the market, those automatic spending cuts, carol, it's those cuts that the congressional budget office continues to say could put the u.s. back into a recession. wall street, they want congress to figure out a way to avoid those cuts before it pushes the dow to that record high. carol? >> we'll see, not much longer to go. alison kosik live at the new york stock exchange. checking out top stories, north dakota digs out from another blizzard, up to half a foot of snow fell monday creating blizzard-like conditions. drivers were stranded in grand forks where police told people not to travel. habily the snow is on its way out today. "lincoln" inspired change in

mississippi after watching the movie, two men discovered mississippi was the last state which had not officially ratified the 13th amendment which abolished slavery. lawmakers aproved it in 1995 but did not notify the u.s. archive. the u.s. of chivist. that changed february 17th when the federal register received a copy and made it all official. in money news, social media high jinks hits burger king, the fast food giant's twitter page was hacked and changed to claim it was taken over by rival mcdonald's. the account was taken down for the rest of the day. political bus rapid fire, look at the best political topics of the day, three topics, 30 seconds on the clock. playing with us democratic strategist and former dnc communications director maria cardona and caton dawson, republican consultant and former chairman of the south carolina republican party. welcome to both of you.

>> thank you, good morning. >> carol, good morning. >> first it's the nine-letter word that epitomizes gridlock in washington, i'm talking about the sequester or in layman's terms forced budget cuts. . in an hour president obama will urng congress to act to avoid those draconian budget cuts, it say familiar scene for the president who seems to be reduced to begging congress to do something, anything these days. so our question, what would you say to congress to avoid sequestration? caton? >> good morning carol and maria. either party the democrats don't want to get caught cutting entitlements and the republicans don't want to get caught cutting defense spending. they'll stand down, sequestration is coming, the public understands the credit card is full and the president will make his pitch. the easy path for once is for them to stand down.

you see and feel it coming, right wrong or indifferent i predict it will be a way of life and that's what's going to happen. >> woo, maria? >> well the president is doing exactly what he needs to be doing, telling american voters to tell their members of congress what they want, what they don't want. they don't want the cuts, the automatic cuts to mental health consultants, food safety, education, small business. if all else fails gather all the members of congress, especially republicans being so obstinate and spend them on an all expenses paid cruise trip on carnival cruise lines. >> not with taxpayer money or anything. on to south carolina, a special congressional election is attracting what can only be called a diverse group of candidates. this is the greatest election infer south carolina including this man. >> i've experienced how none of us go through life without mistakes, but in their wake we can learn a lot about grace, a god of second chances and be the

better for it. in that light i humbly step forward and ask for your help in changing washington. >> how's that for a political ad, former governor mark sanford whose 2009 trip to argentina to see his mistress not only ended his marriage but a promising political career. sanford is vying with 20 other people including the sister of comedian stephen colbert and the son of cnn founder and media mogul ted turner. is mark sanford poised to be the next political comeback kid? i'll start with you katon since you are from south carolina. >> if mark sanford can keep the narrative in the forgiveness story, the infidelity and the apologies, he's going to win that race but i would predict to you stephen colbert and his sister is going to be on the democrat side are not going to let that happen, plus you've got hard-hitting political activists and political operatives in south carolina that will change the narrative toment so of the real facts and lastly, mark khan

ford is not the first politician to date while in office and get away with it. he's a good politician will stay on message and he has colbert waiting on him. >> he won't be the last politician to do that either. >> that's right. >> maria? >> we're a country of redemption and mark sanford is making this the one issue so that others don't. i got to tell you, if he's the front-runner in south carolina, does the gop really have nothing else to offer other than mark sanford? it's a sad state of affairs, no pun intended, for the gop in south carolina if that's the case. >> oh, wo, ow! final question, you could call it the big bang theory, first lady michelle obama opening up about what her husband called the most significant event of inaugural weekend. her hair. >> this is my mid life crisis, the bangs. i couldn't get a sports car,

they won't let me bungy jump so instead i cut my bangs here. >> you went for the bangs. >> i went for the bangs. >> you're the boss of your hair. >> i can do this. this is all mine. >> come on, guys, cut the first lady some slack, with a 73% approval rating she's more popular than most of washington. our question, what should michelle obama do for her next "act of rebellion"? maria? >> that is a tough one to top, the bangs are fabulously popular, everywhere i look i see more women with bangs. i might get bangs myself, carol, maybe you should, too. i would suggest maybe a tattoo, car carol, something classy and small, maybe a little rose on her fabulously cut shoulders, i think that would be fantastic. >> i can't wait to ask katon this question. >> i've got it. i mean i can scratch the sports car itch right here in south carolina by inviting the president and first lady to the darlington 500, guarantee you

the first lady will beat him in a race car, that will scratch the race car itch, that will get it and then they can vacation in myrtle beach, south carolina, where michelle obama can take up golf and learn how to beat the president there also. >> i love that answer, katon! thanks to you maria cardona and katon dawson. a hollywood a-lister hoping for oscar gold. jennifer lawrence opens up about the other side of fame that's hard to handle. >> 22 years old, your second oscar nominations, do you ever just say this can't be my life? >> yeah, i do. now it's just i find it hilarious. >> more of nischelle turner's interview, next.

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you might be seeing more of michael jackson's oldest son, prince michael, that he's his name, hired as a reporter for "entertainment tonight." the lawyer for the 16-year-old says he is determined to make his own money, though he's set to inherit millions of dollars from his father's estate. counting down to the oscars, just five days away, for actress jennifer lawrence she's hoping her performance in "silver linings playbook" will turn to oscar gold. >> i said i'm tired. are you going to walk me home or what? >> you mean me? >> yeah, you. are you going to walk me home? >> you have poor social skills. you have a problem. >> i have a problem? you say more inappropriate things than appropriate things.

you scare peopl >> i tell the truth. you'ring it shall -- >> what, i'm not telling the truth? >> our showbiz correspondent nischelle turner joins me down. sat down for a one on one interview with jennifer. tell us what she said. >> you know, carol, shooe's kin of salt of the earth. i've interviewed her several times from good, young actress to a-list superstar. now she's a front-runner in the race for best actress for the oscar but she says all in her life that glitter sure ain't gold. 22-year-old, your second oscar nomination, do you ever just say this can't be my life? >> yeah, i do. now it's just i find it hilarious. >> and you're at these things and you're like -- >> i know, i'm looking around at all of these legends, my heroes and i'm just like -- >> i heard you on "piers morgan" the other night tell him that you were vulnerable. when i heard that i said no way, you come off as such a confident, tough girl.

>> that's my voice, i have a deep voice, makes me sound confident and tough. >> what are you vulnerable about? >> everything. there's not really, there's no way to really feel like fully confident when you're photographed almost every day. i mean i can't read what anybody says. i don't know, just very, very watched and kind of looked under a microscope, it's impossible not to feel vulnerable. >> i remember interviewing you when "the hunger games" was coming out and the paparazzi were starting to figure you out and found you. have you made peace with that because i know it's a full-on issue. >> no it's horrible. the worst part they take away your peace of mind, even in my house you still have the feeling of being watched. it's just kind of a horrible, horrible thing. i don't think i'll ever come to terms with that. >> when you're not looking like you are today with the gorgeous makeup and the great dress, what do you do when it's just like jennifer lawrence a day off? >> i never wear makeup.

i'm not good at putting on makeup and i look terrible. i normally stay in my pajamas forever especially now because i'm not leaving the house. my friends come over you've been wearing the same thing for three days. i'm like, ugh. >> my girlfriend actually saw her at cvs the other day with the ball cap and no makeup and she was still cute so there you go. carol, she did seem shocked at all of the success she's had so early. she maintains she's still just jennifer from louisville, kentucky. will you appreciate this because you're a woman like me who loves her sports. we got into the university of kentucky/university of louisville athletic debate and she said in her family they are definitely uk, university of kentucky academic people, but they are u of l athletic supporters all the way. >> it's in your blood sometimes. you can't help it. >> it is. it is. >> nischelle turner, thanks so much. a mysterious message pops up on facebook, and it leads a

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50 minutes past the hour. time to check top stories. oscar pistorius breaks down in court as he's officially charged with premeditated murder in his girlfriend's death. he says she died in his arms. according to the aft miss or use said i heard a noise in the bathroom, a sense of terror overwhelmed me, it was pitch dark, i thought she was? ged bed. i didn't have my leg on and felt vulnerable. i shouted to her to phone police, she did not respond. a california man has been charged with rain after he met his victim on the dating website christian mingle.com. they want to know if he

victimized other women. he used several names online. police use facebook for a lot of things, but to notify family members about a dead loved one. an atlanta woman said that's how police tried to reach out to her and she's furious. here's tom jones with our affiliate. >> misty hancock. and i'm like who is that? >> reporter: ann in didn't know who she was and why she was sending her and her daughter facebook messages to contact the police. they paid it no mind because of the strange name and profile picture of atlanta rapper. >> and i'm like okay, this is fake. >> she had been searching for her son, he had been missing since january 25th of this year. she called hospitals and checked jails. she even posted messages on his facebook account. >> ricky, where are you, love

mom. >> she had no idea her son had died when a driver hit him as he crossed aed road on january 24th around 11 that night. then, on valentine's day, some 20 days after he disappeared, the daughter called number and an officer gave her the bad news. he was trying to reach them to tell them he died. >> i've been on my job 13 years. they could have found me. >> she is angry police didn't use over means to find her and they should have used a police department facebook account to reach her. his girlfriend feels the same way. >> people need to know it's the police department trying to contact them. >> so many jones reporting from our affiliate. for their part, the clayton county police said they tried to contact the family in more conventional ways. the funeral is saturday. we're talking about what may have motivated adam lanza.

but should we be talking about it at all? it's our talkback question today. a new role. working behind the scenes to provide companies with services... like helping hr departments manage benefits and pensions for over 11 million employees. reducing document costs by up to 30%... and processing $421 billion dollars in accounts payables each year. helping thousands of companies simplify how work gets done. how's that for an encore? with xerox, you're ready for real business.

talkback question today. how should the media report on serial killers? kill cattily to avoid how to information for copy cats. ask anyone, any of the last five

mass murderers what their names were and they will know, and ask the last five heros and they'll say what? the public needs to be made aware of thing like this, but maybe it shouldn't be brought up every 30 minutes. also continuing to focus on the victims rather than the killers is a good idea. the main reason to report anything is to solve problems not to indoctrinate. i sometimes think the corporate media wants to recredit the world in its own image. the media should stop. it should not be reported. this is why they do it to become famous. facebook.com/carol cnn, or tweet me @carol cnn. please continue the conversation. [ male announcer ] every car we build must make adrenaline pump and pulses quicken. ♪ to help you not just to stay alive... but feel alive. the new c-class is no exception.

it's a mercedes-benz through and through. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea,

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sad news from the sports world, los angeles lakers long time owner jerry buss passed away. here's the bleacher report. >> thank you very much. the lakers jerry busz was many things, but he was a winner and passed away on monday at the age of 80 after a long battle with cancer. ph.d. in physical chemistry, he made his fortune in real estate and then waugt the lakers and they earned 10 championships, kareem to magic, shaq and kobe.

his daughter will control business aspects, son basketball decisions. they released a statement. they lost a visionary owner. he goes on to say we have lost a dear and valued friend. our thoughts a are with the family. members of the boston bruins visited newtown to show support. they put on a hockey clinic for the high school hockey team and signed autographs for the crowd. and this the pga golf management program, nine players, each lets fly and they find the cup. that's great teamwork and that's the classroom. for your sports news, go to bleacher report.com. more on the passes of the laker owner and sports news. it's difficult for one to make it, let alone nine. >> that didn't look real. vince, thank you.

the next hour of cnn newsroom starts now. happening now in the newsroom, oscar pistorius appears in a south african courtroom while the woman he's charged with will killing is laid to rest. pistorius' lawyers reveal his version of events while steenkamp's family remembers her life. >> there's a space missing inside all the people that she knew, and can't be filled again. you're used to seeing drones target terrorists overseas, now drones like this one could be flying over your house recording your every move. and guess what, your make could be controlling. plus the money behind meteorites. russians hoping to turn this event into a moneymaker. we're live at the cnn newsroom. and good morning, thank you so much for joining me, i'm

carol costello. we start this hour with breaking news. wouldn't you know it, the dow has crossed a five year high this morning. so let's head to the new york stock exchange to check in with alison kosik. the dough makes no sense to me these days. >> reporter: does it ever? so we love these nice round numbers. when it crosses 14,000 we get excited. so, yes, the dow did hit a new five year high to be precise, 14,041, the question, will that stick? will we see the dow close once the bell rings the day boov 14,000. will it jump another 130 points to get to the all-time high of 14,164. that really is the number that everybody's going for. and a lot of traders that i talk to say once you see the dow kind of get on this roll of that, you may see it gather momentum. they are staying pretty stable. the dow up 57 points, but we'll

keep an eye on it for you. >> but i thought investors were worried about congress and the draconian budget cuts that were supposed to go into effect on march 1st. >> it's the worry in the bake of their minds. there's the optimism out there that maybe a deal can be cut in the next couple of weeks to keep the spending cuts from going into effect. at the same time, there's the technical levels that once you see these numbers going up and getting closer to the record 14,164 they gather momentum. but maybe it doesn't make sense, but it's momentum that could push it there. but don't expect it to stick. it could then fall back if it hits it. >> alison kosik flooif new york stock exchange. let's head to south africa. in an emotionally wrenching hearing today, the judge recruise fused to downgrade the charge against oscar pistorius. he is charged with premeditated

murder. he we want as they tried to persuade the court that it was a tragic accident. some key points from his aft. he said i heard a noised in bathroom. a sense of terror overwhelmed me. it was pitch dark. i thought reeva was in bed. i fired shots at the toilet door and shouted at her to phone police. she was not in bed. then it dawned on me that it might be her. later he said she died in my arms. his bail hearing is over for the day. but we want to get a feel nor what happened in the courtroom. this is a sketch artist that was in the courtroom. he was there. how are you? >> good. >> thanks for being with us. what was the most striking moment in court? >> i have to say when they read the statement out and, you know, it came to the part where she

died in his arms. and he went into tears. he had -- as well -- it was touching. and, you know, the punishment sitting in court doing your job. but still in the knowing of a friend and the incident playing with you in track and field. >> just to make it clear because your court system is different from ours in the united states. the defendant in this case, oscar pistorius, he actually read his own aft in court. explaining to the judge -- >> no. >> what happened that night? >> no, he didn't. but his lawyers did. his aft, what happened, the events of the night. and, you know, it was for all south africans it was extremely emotional, and everybody in the court had lumps in their

throats, you know, because to see our big hero, a sport hero like that, you know, from, literally from a world hero to a weeping in the court -- yeah. this was quite heartbreaking for all south africans. >> when the judge decide the not to downgrade the charge against him, what was his reaction? >> it was all the people in the court. it was a quiet moment. because everybody's eyes just went to him. we knew this was bad. this was not what we expected. i think all of us expected a schedule five, and so, you know, that was how it was. but it was a schedule six, and it's the worst you can get. >> so most likely the judge will not grant bail in this case.

>> in this case, no. you know, the chances are slim. i wouldn't speak for the judge, but schedule six is almost like first class murder. and, you know, so, it was the judges call, so we have to live by that. >> thank you so much for enlightening us this morning. we appreciate it. while the pistorius hearing was underway, reeva steenkamp was mourned during a private funeral in port elizabeth. later her uncle broke down while speaking with reporters. >> we are today as a family, but there's only one thing missing, it's reeva. >> it's okay. >> we've got together, and we're missing one. you know, i think -- we'll get out of it all right. with the lord's prayers, and the

what she stood for, abuse against women. >> the day before steenkamp was killed, she had come out in support of an event called black friday a nationwide rain awareness day. on to american politics. his vacation is over, now president obama is diving back into the world of washington politics. this hour, he's scheduled to talk about the looming sequestration. the $85 billion in budget cuts set to take place next friday unless congress takes action. it will effect everything from education to your travel plans. at 10:45 eastern, 40 minutes, the president will deliver comments from the white house flanked by emergency responders who will be affected bit budget cuts. an american cyber security firm has linked prolific computer hackers to the chinese government. we'll tell you what they found, next. simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest...

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patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. our new talkback show 20 minutes away. we're discussing some controvert topics today, including why adam lanza opened fire on sandy hook elementary school. a new report says he was obsessed with anders breivik who killed 77 people in 2011. the talkback question today, the first one, how should the media report on serial killers? please

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zyrtec-d®. at the pharmacy counter. then you're going to love this. right now they're only $14.95! wow-a grt deal just got a whole lot better. hurry. $14.95 won't last. a six year investigation by an american security firm reports it observed a group of hackers called the common crew, stealing information from hundreds of organizations and firms worldwide. they were apparently connected to the chinese government. david mckenzie is keeping an eye on this from beijing. good morning, david. >> reporter: morning, carol. it's quite extraordinary. most of those 140 companies that mandian, the virginia-based

company said were twkd were in the u.s., including national security company like aerospace companies, high-tech, it, this group of hackers, not just tens, but hundreds potentially working out of shanghai in china china were not just working alone, they were working in cooperation with the chinese military. and in fact, under direction from the chinese government in bye jing. serious allegations of terra bytes, of cooperate espionage done from here in china, carol. >> i mean, what can the united states do about this? >> reporter: oh, the united states, particularly senators and congressmen in the committees which look at this have said for some time now that the next real threat could be a cyber threat. not necessarily just a nuts and bolts terrorist attack, but attacks coming from state-response eshd groups and

hacking groups. mandian said that the way that these attacks happened say that it had to be state-sponsored. the chinese government denying it. saying this is rubbish and in fact that they are getting attacked. so certainly tit for tat arguments are going across from china and the u.s. definitely not the last we've heard of this. >> david, thanks so much, reporting life from bye jing. there's big concern right now, could we see our skies filled with drones? not just military and police aircraft, but drones that happen to belong to your neighbor? and your neighbor could fly those drones over your house. i will ask one outspoken drone owner why he needs one. mbraced a new role. working behind the scenes to provide companies with services... like helping hr departments manage benefits and pensions for over 11 million employees. reducing document costs by up to 30%...

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white house about sequestration. unless congress has an agreement before next friday, there will be $85 billion in budget cuts affecting everything from education to defense to your travel plans. the oscar nominated film lincoln has inspired change in mississippi. after watching the movie, two men in mississippi discovered mississippi was actually the last state which had not official ratified the 13th amendment which abolished slavery. it was approved in 1995 but did not take the final steps to make it official. they did that on february 7th. the meteor that streaked through the russian sky could make some people rich. offers of several thousand dollars from the fragments coming in. people senching for chunks of space rock as ads for would be buyers fill up the internet.

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agencies yugsz drones and some lawmakers are trying to restrict their use. but anthony is way pro drone. he has a drone and uses it frequently with spectacular results. this is his drone, i think you saw it take off. it's equipped with two cameras. here it's flying on long island, kentucky new york. these are stunning and gorgeous pictures. still, it is a drone and it can get a lot closer to the homes on long island. it's all up to the operator. anthony join us from new york, good morning. >> good morning. >> first of all, tell us how you operate your drone. do you have a special room in your house, how does that work? >> well, it can be remotely operated with regular radio control unit that you'd see people using with foi toy model airplanes, or autoton mousily programmed to go to a preset

location, carry out whatever you want it to do, in my case, photographer, and then return to where it came from. either way you can view where it's going on orwhat it's doing through a monitor system on the drone itself. and has a video down link that i could watch as its cruising through the neighborhood or wherever i deem to send it. >> so is it difficult to operate? >> not -- it's not easy, but it's not very hard. with a few hundred dollars you could get one to practice on before you to want send a few thousand dollars up on six propellers. it's -- it's relatively simple. it's more than a toy, but less than you would see something that would be firing hellfire missiles from. >> thank goodness. you're part of openy and anthony, you're a shock jock. and you have a drone that can

fly over homes kind of makes me nervous. >> yeah. i guess my neighbors probably wondering what i'm doing. but there's still an expectation of privacy there that i'm respecting, and it is the law. you can't just hover in front of people's windows and start taking cardio video. from the air, i love the technology, i love video, and to be able to get these angles that you could never get from a hand held camera is really amazing. and that it is available to civilians at this point is -- it's actually exciting to take video from something that's so high up. i've gone to the world's fairgrounds and taken video of inside the observation decks up there here in new york. it's just fascinating to be able to get this up close video from pretty inaccessible places. >> it's just amazing. apparently you can fly these things legally up to 400 feet. so you're well within the bounds

of the law. some people might think, hey, i don't like this whole scene. it's just too easy to spy on me with this technology available to the every day guy on the street. at some point, do you think that drones should be regulated by local, state governments, the feds? >> i'm the last person to say anything for regulation and legislation, but i can see these things getting into some situations that might be a little dangerous. the potential for evil use is definitely out there. but it shouldn't interfere with people who to want use it for surveying their land, obviously law enforcement or private security firms might to want use these for surveillance of some sort. and viding you fors. like i said, it's a great, exciting way to get angles on video. the opportunity is there for

some not too legal and ethical things to do. but again, that's human nature, isn't it? >> it's human nature. that's why it scares so many people. i suspect one day that lawmakers will, i don't know, make -- at least have rules and regulations in place as to how you can use your drone specifically. >> yeah, that seems to be what they do best. >> sometimes. anthony, thank you so much for sharing. >> thank you. coming up next, our special talkback show, hot topics and conversation, and your comments. first question. how should the media report on serial killers? e had a great sp, not easy to find, but worth it. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function starting within five minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better. and that means...fish on!

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to a special edition of talkback, two hot topics, great guests, your comments. a possible motive for adam lanza and a the latest event to stop washington in its tracks. the sequestration. playing today, maria cardona, and jason johnson, cnn contributor and analyst for the blaze will cain and republican consultant and former south carolina republican party chair, katon dawson. first question, talkback, how should the media report on serial killers. maybe, maybe now we know why, why a troubled young man opened

fire at sandy hook elementary school. it wasn't because he was unloved or bullied, but obsessed with mass murderers like anders, breivik who killed 77 people in 2011. >> officials have not publicly revealed what led them to the know motive. but investigators have found evidence he was obsess withed breivik. they've recovered a troef of violent video games from the basement of lanza's home. sources say lanza spent countless hours there alone in a private gaming room with the windows blacked out, honing his computer shooting skills. >> so, as cbs reports, adam lanza was fix sated on a real life serial killer and honed his skills playing make believe. it reignites how much media air time the media ought to give killers. what if they had never mentioned his name, never shown his

picture, and never shared with you the who, how and why? the thing is, killers may be inspired by serial killers they see as media stars, but they're inspired by other things. charlesmantonson was inspired bit beatle white album. mark david chapman who killed john lennon was inspired by the catcher in the reye, and john hinckley by taxi driver which he saw 15 times. he shot president reagan jodie foster would look into her heart and gain her respect and love. it's easy to blame the media, my guess is you find it essential to know why. it's why you read a blog, or watch one of the dozens of tv shows about serial killers, dexter, anyone? so dig deep this morning because what i'm about to ask you and our panelists doesn't have an

easy answer. how should the media report on serial killers? jason. >> we should separate crazy people from actual motivations that lead people to behave in a crazy way. dylan klebold or adam lanza, they were emotionally disturbed, if it wasn't in sweden, it was going to be a video game, it doesn't matter. but dorner in los angeles, this was a situation, hey, look, maybe he had mental problems and discrimination issues within the los angeles police department. we've got to separate the politics from the crazy people. >> will. >> yeah, i think as we try to step into the mind of a crazy man and readjust how we interact with each other through the media or legislate each other, we need to be careful. because, look, the ping thing is this. this is -- you're looking at laws that have broad, or in the case of the media, broad, broad sweeping changes.

this guy, as you pointed out, there could have been numerous mote sprapgs i don't know that we have massive lessons to learn. what is media? cnn? newspapers? westbounds and twitter and facebook won't post the name and picture. >> exactly. because will's right, they appeared every whereby in the just on cnn, not just on television. >> well, carol, one of the things -- i give a different take. these are sick individuals, and it's the media's responsibility cover these acts. what i would mope as in georgia and south carolina where you can carry a concealed weapon legally, go through a background check, i hope the media reports when a citizen taking up for themselves before law enforcement can get on the scene and show those scenes where we have had enough as a public of people preying on children and innocent citizens and regardless of what the excuse is or why

they did it, that's the kind of coverage i hope to see in the media of where the public has stepped up legally with background checks, carrying weapons and being able to protect themselves. that's one of the answers and the solutions. >> and we covered a case like that here in georgia a couple of weeks ago. maria, back to the notion that the media makes stars of serial killers and that's what inspires mentally ill people to go on these mass shooting rampages. in your mind, is that what happens? >> it's -- to blame the media, carol, is just way too simplistic. and that's what you mentioned and i completely agree with that and takes away the personal responsibility from the person and it takes away the collective responsibility if all of us and society and legislator and leaders and community leaders to really figure out how to stop this from happening in the future. should the media report on these

efferents responsibly and carefully? absolutely. and the media should be careful to be correct instead of being first to report it. we know there have been some instances of that. but in terms of blaming the media for this, i think it is a way, way too simplistic to say there's not one reason for this. if, like you said, there's plenty of reasons to go around what inspired the mass killers, if it wasn't the media, it was the video games, if it wasn't the video games, we heard it was because his mother was going to commit him. we don't know, but we should focus on what needs to be done in terms was a solution. >> i want to find out what our facebook friends think about this question. this from dennis, it's a double-edged sword. the information may help a parent recognize a problem or inspire a teenager. it's ironic to blame guns but not the media. both are tools and resources of

troubled individuals. keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolc facebook.com/carolcnn, or tweet me @carol cnn. what would you say to congress to avoid forced budget cuts? you know, sequestration. we'll be right back. mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004. the battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection

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cuts? watch out. like the astroid headed to earth, they're coming. $86 billion in automatic budget cuts. don't bother to duck, the president is begging congress with the impact on small business, first responders and children. >> 2013 can be a year of solid growth, more jobs and higher wages. but that will only happen if we put a stop to self-inflicted wounds in washington. everyone in washington needs to focus not on politics, but on what's right for the country. >> really? the president keeps talking about new taxes even though republicans say that's dead in the water. nobody's even talking about a deal. many republicans say if these forced budget cuts are what it takes to cut spending, then bring it on, however, painful. they like to remind us it was obama's idea and they're calling it obama quester.

isn't it the blame deal. that's what it boils down to. what would you say to congress to krood the budget cuts? >> do nothing. allow them to go through. $1.2 trillion over ten years. it's volunteerly turning the titan irk or the battleship around. i know it's not ideal. it's a blunt non-prioritized wasn't cuts. second, put together a deal to reduce the debt and deficit. but i've lost belief that congress can do happen this. and by the way, politicians are going to grand stand. it's washington monumenting, the interior says they're going to shut down the washington monument as if there's not other things they can smut down, other things. >> this strikes me as so irresponsible, jairve. >> yes, i would sit in front of congress and say this is your bed, you made it, figure out a way out of it.

this is lazy governance ats it worst. obama put the deal together because he thought the republicans would blink, and the republicans don't want the cuts. when we start losing border patrol and tsa, everyone should say congress do your job, this is lazy prohibition at its worst. >> and they like to stay this was obama's idea, but many of them voted for it. >> one thing the president said was self-inflicted kwounds, carol. it's years coming and in the making. an example of a deal that was cut four years ago, a conservative from south carolina, congressman barney frank, two unusual allies put up a bill to cap defense spend and the senate didn't pass it. congress did. there are people willing to do teals, these are self-inflicted, i agree with the other panelists, let the chips fall, let's deal with the outrageous

deficits and the irresponsible spending. >> so we let these drank done yan budget cuts take place, who's going to suffer? not the congress or the senate, it's going to be us. >> absolutely, carol. let's be unequivocal about how irresponsible this would be and a complete abdication of responsibility on behalf of congress. we could threaten them with really bad approval ratings, but that hasn't worked. so let's also be unequivocal, that if this happens, the majority of the american people will blame republicans more so than democrats because they're hearing what we heard today, let these cuts happen. who will these cuts affect? seniors below the poverty line no longer getting meals, children in special education classes who will be kicked off of those programs, food safety inspectors will no longer be on the job. it will be all of us. what should we tell congress? all of those people in the

districts affected by this should be calling, writing, should be protesting about what these cuts will do. >> i wish you could see will cain's face. >> maria, as much as i love her is doing what they would. they will grand stand cuts. toem koi burn has pointed out over $500 billion in duh my cat programs. why do you have to threaten the washington moon mon yumt and border security. start with easy to cut. irresponsible, how about the 1.1 whatever billion dollar deficit. it will be hard -- >> let's remember -- >> hold on a minute, one at a time. jason, jason, go ahead. >> it's irresponsible because it is congress's job to come up with a budget. it's the democrat's job to come up with a reasonable one, and this is like slaying we don't to want wash the car, wait until it

rains. that's ridiculous. what i'm suggesting is we get rid of some of the loopholes and programs. >> i want to address that to kayton because nancy pelosi said something the other day. when it was suggested that congress should take a pay cut if these draconian budget cuts would go into effect, nancy pelosi said beneath the dignity of the office. and when she said that, it went through my mind, you just don't understand the real world. >> so -- >> i want kayton to respond. >> pelosi comes from a really different place than i do. the irresponsibility is the leadership provided on both sides regardless of where we are. it's time to fess up and realize that our country can no longer afford that the literal side wants. we have to pay our bills like the families back home. it's dmns. if you don't have the money, you

can't keep borrowing that. to make everybody deal good. >> kayton, absolutely i completely agree with you, but let's remember who has walked away from the grand bargain more than two times. it was not president obama, it was not democrats, it was republicans. the president put on the table a deal that would cut $4 trillion from our debt -- deficit, including programs in medicare and social security to the chagrin of democrats. he did not walk away, the republicans did. it's going to be on their lap. >> let's see where the taxes are and the burdens and where they are going to be paid. >> on mull if i ty millionaires which is where it should be. >> okay. >> and i still don't believe that people trust washington to spend anymore money than they're spending right now. >> that is true. just to button this up, president obama is set to speak in, he's running late, so five or ten minutes, president obama will address the nation, he'll

try to convince members of congress to come up with some sort of deal, he'll surround himself with people who will be affected bit draconian budget cuts. so jason what does the president need to say to get a deal done? >> he needs to say i am willing to take million almost any plan within the next 24 hours. the republicans have some solutions, the democrats have some sflugs solutions. i think he can get this done. he can run down the states that will be most affected, call those members of congress, there's no reason to destroy the economy when we're on the uptick. >> i want to fete g et in the facebook comments. what would you say to congress to avoid the forced budget cuts? try try doing something constructive. and tough times for for tough cuts. when you're broke, you don't do shopping. keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn, or tweet me @carolcnn.

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if you take care of your car your car will take care of you. all right, we just got two minute warning, the president about to speak. let's go to washington, d.c. and wolf blitzer. >> thank you very much. the president will be making his pitch to avoid sequestration. a fancy word for the forced budget cuts and spending cuts. jessica, tell us why the president organized this event right next door to the mouse ow whoulgs? >> reporter: the president is going to use the bully pulpit to shape debate over the next ten days and then into the next month before the sequester, these across the board budget

cuts kick in, and everybody in washington, wolf, does now expect them to kick in ten days from now. it's $85 billion in cuts this year alone. and the president will be joined on stage by first responders, what we call in washington, political circles, quote, real americans who will be affected by these cuts. they will lose their own jobs when this happens. his point there is to try to drive the message home that washington needs to act to change this circumstance before it's too late. and i see they're coming on the stage now along with the president, not quite yet, wolf, senator mitch mcconnell, the republican leader has issued a statement saying that once again, that more than three months after the november election, president obama still prefers campaign events to common sense bipartisan action. a sense you can see already just how partisan and bitter this debate will be. and we expect it to go well into

march as democrats and republicans battle over a mix of spending cuts versus tax increases. deja vu. >> all right, so the president is now being introduced. he'll make the case to avoid the forced spending cuts. he probably won't tell us that the idea originated in the white house. >> thank you. thank you. thank you. good morning, everybody, please have a seat. to the white house. as i said in my state of the union address last week, our top priority must be to do everything we can to grow the economy and create, middle class jobs. that's our top priority. that's our north star. that drives every decision we make. and it has to drive every decision that congress and everybody in washington makes over the next several years. and that's why it's so troubling that just ten days from now

congress might allow a series of automatic, severe budget cuts to take place that will do the exact opposite. it won't help the economy, won't create jobs, will visit hardship on a whole lot of people. here's what's at stake. over the last few years, both parties have worked together to reduce our deficits by more than $2.5 trillion. more than two-thirds of that was through some pretty tough spending cuts. the rest of it was through raising taxes, tax rates on the wealthiest 1% of americans. and together, when you take the spending cuts and the increased tax rates on the top 1%, it puts us more than halfway towards the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction that economists say we need to stabilize our finances.

congress back in 2011 also passed a law saying that if both parties couldn't agree on a plan to reach that $4 trillion goal, about a trillion dollars of additional, arbitrary budget cuts would start to take effect this year. and by the way, the whole design of these arbitrary cuts was to make them so unattractive and unappealing that democrats and republicans would actually get together and find a good compromise of sensible cuts as well as closing tax loopholes and so forth and so this was all designed to say, we can't do these bad cuts, let's do something smarter. that was the whole point of this so-called sequestration. unfortunately congress didn't compromise, they haven't come together and done their jobs. and so as a consequence, we've got these automatic, brutal

spending cuts that are poised to happen next friday. now if congress allows this meat cleaver approach to take place, it will jeopardize our military readiness, it will eviscerate job creating investments in education and energy and million research. it won't consider whether we're cutting some bloated program that has outliveds it usefulness, or a vital service that americans depend on every single day. it doesn't make those distinctions. emergency responders like the ones who are here today, their ability to help communities respond to and recover from disasters will be degraded. border principal agents will see their hours reduced. fbi agents will be furloughed. federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals go. air traffic controllers and airport security will see cutbacks, which means more

delays at airports across the country. thousands of teachers and educators will be laid off. tens of thousands of parents will have to scramble to find child care for their kids. hundreds of thousands of americans will lose access to primary care and preventive care like flu vaccinations and cancer screenings. and already, the threat of these cuts has forced the navy to delay an aircraft carrier that was supposed to deploy to the persian gulf. as our military leaders have made clear, changes like this, not well throughout through, not phased in prrply, changes like this affect our ability to respond to threats in unstable parts of the world. so these cuts are not smart, dpar, they will hurt our economy, they will add hundreds of thousands of americans to the unemployment rolls. this is not an abstraction,

people will lose their jobs. the unemployment rate might tick up again. that's why democrats, republicans, business leaders and economists, they've already said that these cuts, known here in washington as sequestration, are a bad idea. they're not good for our economy, they're not how we should run our government. and here's the thing, they don't have to happen. there is a smarter way to do this. to reduce our deficits without harming our economy. but congress has to act in order for that to happen. now, for two yoers, i've offered a balanced approach outlined itt the state of the union. i am willing to cut more spending that we don't need, get rid of programs that aren't working, i've laid out specific

reforms to our entitlement programs that could achieve the same amount of health care savings by the beginning of the next decade as the reforms that were proposed by the bipartisan simpson-bowles commission. i'm willing to save hundreds of billions of dollars by getting rid of tax loop heels and deductions for the well off and well connected without raising tax rates. i believe such a balanced approach that combines tax reform with some additional spending reforms done in a smart, thoughtful way, is the best way to finish the job of deficit reduction and avoid these cuts once and for all that could hurt our economy, slow our recovery, put people out of work. and most americans agree with me. now, the house and the senate are working on budgets that i hope reflect on -- reflect this

approach. but if they can't get such a budget agreement done by next friday, the day these harmful cuts begin to take effect, then at minimum congress should pass a smaller package of spending cuts and tax reforms that would prevent these harmful cuts, not to kick the can down the road, but to give them time to work together on a plan that finishes the job of deficit reduction in a sensible way. i know democrats in the house and in the senate have proposed such a plan, a balanced plan. one that pairs more spending cuts with tax reform that closes special interest loopholes and makes sure that billionaires cannot pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries. and i know that republicans have proposed some ideas too. i have to say, though, that so far, at least, the ideas that the republicans have proposed asks nothing of the wealthiest

americans or biggest corporations. so the burden is all on first responders or seniors or middle class families. they doubled down, in fact, on the harsh, harmful cuts that i've outlined, slashed medicare and investments that create good, middle class jobs. and so far, at least, what they've expressed is a preference where they'd rather have these cuts go into effect than close a single tax loophole for the wealthiest americans. not one. well, that's not balanced. that would be like democrats saying we have to close our deficits without any spending cuts whatsoever. it's all taxes. that's not the position democrats have taken, that's certainly not the position i've taken. it's wrong to ask the middle class to bear the full burden of deficit reduction. and that's why i will not sign a plan that harms the middle

class. so now republicans in congress face a simple choice. are they willing to compromise to protect vital investments in education and health care and national security and all the jobs that depend on them? or would they rather put hundreds of thousands of jobs and our entire economy at risk just to protect a few special interest tax loopholes that benefit the wealthiest individuals and corporations. that's the choice. are you willing to see a bunch of first responders lose their jobs because you want to protect a special interest tax loophole? are you willing to have teachers laid off or kids not have access to head start? or deeper cuts in student loan programs? just because you want to protect a special tax interest loophole that the vast majority of americans don't benefit